Sony prepares for metaverse revolution with push across platforms

TOKYO – The Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corp. said it is well positioned to play a leading role in the metaverse or immersive virtual worlds that commentators speculate will massively disrupt industries and establish new powerhouses.

Metaverset is a vague term that encapsulates the idea that consumers will spend more time in online simulated environments. As the concept evolves, it has become a buzzword in briefings and a driving force for industry contracting.

“Metaverset is at the same time a social space and a live networking space where games, music, movies and anime intersect,” CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said at a strategy briefing on Wednesday, pointing to the use of free-to-do play Battle Royale. title Fortnite from Epic Games as an online social space.

Sony’s gaming, music and film units contributed two-thirds of operating revenues in the year ending March, underscoring the group’s transformation from a consumer electronics maker to a metaverse-ready entertainment juggernaut under Mr. Yoshida and his predecessor Kazuo Hirai.

The company is a gaming gatekeeper with its PlayStation 5 console, but observers point to the risk of growing cross-platform, cloud-based titles and their potential to reduce the influence of proprietary platforms.

Sony has adjusted its approach, enabling crossover games Fortnite in 2018. This week, Epic said the “V-Bucks” currency in the game purchased on PlayStation would be usable on other platforms.

“PlayStation has played a huge role in the social gaming revolution that is fueling the growth of the meta-verse as a new entertainment medium,” Epics CEO Tim Sweeney said on Twitter.

Sony has also taken steps to expand beyond its focus on single-player titles such as Spider-Man: Miles Moraleswith an agreement announced in January to buy Bungie, the developer of the online multiplayer shooter Fate.

“We believe it will be a catalyst to improve our live-service gaming capabilities … (It) represents a major step forward in becoming multi-platform,” said Mr. Yoshida.

Sony already licenses its content to other platforms and takes advantage of the value for content streamers such as popular US sitcoms Seinfeld. Although the company owns the Crunchyroll anime streaming service, it has not pushed as aggressively to operate its own video platforms as rivals like Walt Disney Co with its Disney + service.

In addition to the meta-verse, Mr. Yoshida also highlighted Sony’s demands for mobility, where the conglomerate developed an electric vehicle with Honda Motor Co Ltd.

Sony created a new lifestyle in 1979 with the launch of the Walkman, said Mr. Yoshida.

“We aim to transform the mobility area into a new entertainment area … We believe that mobility will be the next megatrend,” he said. – Reuters